On to the ARC of one of my favorite authors! Elizabeth Scott is one of those authors where I just open her book and read. I don’t read anything on the cover or any summaries. I just read knowing I’ll enjoy it.
I really didn’t know what I was getting in for this time. If it was any other author, I may not have wanted to read about this world. It’s set in a near future where a brutal leader named Keran Berj has taken over and kills in the name of freedom. He sets random rules about what to do, think or say. Then he changes them frequently enough to keep everyone in constant fear.
Grace lives on the run from the reign of Keran Berj with a group of people called the Hills. They boys are raised to be fighters and girls are chosen to be Angels. Grace was sent to be an Angel, which means that she will be chosen one day for a specific task of terror. This task will include her own death as a suicide bomber. She’s always accepted that as her fate by rationalizing that it would bring glory to her family. But when the day comes, she decides that she doesn’t want to die. But she can’t go back home, since she would be killed for her shameful act of not dying.
Then she meets another person in a similar situation. This boy has always represented cruelty and death to her people. But while getting to know him, Grace realizes that the two of them aren’t really that different. Grace has blood on her hands too in the name of her cause. Isn’t death still death? Isn’t terror still terror? No matter what the reason?
She finds a way that may be an escape for her, if she is able to make it through the malicious guards along the way to the border. Grace has lived her whole life preparing to die. Can she now prepare to live?
This is an amazing book. I can’t do it justice in this review. The back of the book says “told in spare, powerful prose….that will haunt readers long after they’ve reached the final page.” That’s exactly it! It’s haunting, intense and sad. It brings to mind so many things. There is something about the train ride that reminded me of the Holocaust. Of course, the acts of terror are all too familiar to everyone. It’s a book you want to discuss with friends. I’m intrigued about what ideas sparked the idea for this book.
This book is a departure from Scott’s other books (so is Living Dead Girl). For example, after someone reads & loves SOMETHING, MAYBE, you wouldn’t go immediately think to recommend GRACE. But that’s just a testament to what a brilliant and talented writer she is. This is incredible range. Wow! I just have to wonder what topic she’ll tackle next! Whatever it is, I’ll be there to devour it!
Thank you Elizabeth Scott for including me in your blog tour!
GRACE is due out September 16th. Check out the author at her website.
Click HERE to scroll through all the reviews I've done on her books. (you should really check them ALL out!)
